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As one of his first acts on the job, Werfel asked Lois Lerner — the controversial head of the agency’s tax exempt division — to resign amid calls for greater accountability at the IRS. When she refused, he swiftly placed her on administrative leave.

He’s created an entirely new high-level position to rein in the agency’s risks. He even demonstrated some press savvy — a trait rarely associated with the IRS — by releasing a contrite statement last week to get ahead of news that the agency spent nearly $50 million on conferences.

The shakeups are still unfolding. Before heading to Capitol Hill on Monday for his first public appearance since Obama installed him as the acting IRS commissioner, Werfel announced the appointment of two senior staffers who will be charged with helping him undertake an comprehensive review of the agency.

He’s not going to deter Congress from constantly pounding the IRS, but his approach is winning him some early respect.

Werfel’s testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee was all about projecting a very different tone from his predecessors — Steven Miller and Doug Shulman — who were blasted by lawmakers during hearings last month for failing to take responsibility for the agency’s blunders.

“These failures have undermined that public’s trust in the IRS’s ability to administer the tax laws in a fair and impartial manner,” Werfel told the House panel on Monday. “The agency stands ready to confront the problems that occurred, hold accountable those who acted inappropriately, be open about what happened and permanently fix these problems so that such missteps do not occur again.”

Case in point: Werfel pledged to be forthcoming with Congress. That’s key in mending relationships with lawmakers who believe previous leaders misled lawmakers — or outright lied — about the agency’s recently revealed practice of subjecting tea party groups to extra review as they applied for a tax exemption.

Werfel told lawmakers he would alert Congress on the evolving scandals at the IRS and is currently investigating agency employees targeted individual taxpayers — not just conservative groups — because of their political beliefs.

“I’m not aware of any such behavior,” Werfel told Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.). “I’ve initiated a review to answer that very question and if I find anything that is similar in scope to what is in this inspector general report I will make you aware,”